Paid Media Governance

Purpose and Scope:
The Paid Media Governance role is a key partner within the US Omnichannel Experience team, tasked with building and scaling paid media capabilities. This role will establish and enforce the strategic frameworks, standards, and best practices that govern all paid media execution across the enterprise. By ensuring operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and financial accountability, this Director will be instrumental in maximizing the return on our media investments and advancing brand objectives.
This position requires deep expertise in the life sciences industry and the digital media landscape to effectively architect our approach to paid media. The ideal candidate will be a strategic leader with a proven ability to manage complex partner relationships and drive enterprise-wide adoption of best-in-class processes.

Responsibilities and Accountabilities:
This leader will serve as the central point of governance for paid media, liaising between internal brand teams, external agencies, and technology partners to drive performance and accountability.

Strategic Governance & Framework Development:
• Develop, implement, and enforce enterprise-wide standards for media planning, buying, activation, and measurement.
• Establish clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and benchmarking frameworks tailored to brand objectives and industry best practices.
• Architect and manage the key terms, performance standards, and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) within all paid media partner Statements of Work (SOWs) to ensure performance and accountability.
• Drive the strategic alignment between marketing objectives and paid media execution, including channel strategy, audience segmentation, and budget allocation.
• Work with legal and procurement to structure and manage MSA and SOWs to ensure vendor benefits
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Financial Oversight & Performance Management:
• Apply financial acumen to oversee the portfolio paid media budget, ensuring efficient allocation of resources, accurate forecasting, and proactive fiduciary management.
• Lead quarterly and annual business reviews with media agencies and key vendors to assess performance against contractual obligations and strategic goals.
• Define a robust reporting and insights cadence, ensuring that campaign performance analysis directly informs optimization and demonstrates a clear return on investment.
• Collaborate with cross-functional analytics and finance teams to validate media performance against proforma goals and ROI models.
• Utilize contract performance and financial management platforms and tools to ensure appropriate compliance to contract terms and brand performance objectives
Stakeholder & Partner Management:
• Act as the primary point of escalation to drive accountability and resolve performance issues between brand teams, agencies, and vendors.
• Foster a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement with all paid media partners.
• Provide executive-level communication and context on media performance, industry trends, and strategic initiatives to internal stakeholders.
Compliance & Innovation:
• Serve as the subject matter expert on media-related compliance, ensuring all activities adhere to data privacy regulations and pharmaceutical marketing guidelines.
• Stay at the forefront of the paid media landscape, identifying and championing new technologies, partners, and innovative strategies to maintain competitive edge.
• Champion pilot programs and initiatives to test new media capabilities and tactics.

Required Qualifications:

Required Experience & Knowledge:
• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, or a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in US agency management; experience in procurement is highly relevant.
• Direct experience managing or overseeing large-scale media budgets in the US, ideally $100M+ annually.
• Significant experience in the life sciences, pharmaceutical, or another highly regulated industry is preferred. .
• In-depth, expert-level knowledge of the digital media ecosystem, including programmatic, paid search, social media, connected TV (CTV), and digital audio.
• Proven track record of developing and managing relationships with media agencies, publishers, and ad tech vendors, including direct experience negotiating SOWs and performance terms.
Skills & Competencies:
• Demonstrated ability to lead and influence cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders in a matrixed organization.
• Exceptional negotiation and vendor management skills.
• Superior analytical and problem-solving skills, with a demonstrated ability to translate complex data into actionable, strategic insights.
• Excellent executive-level communication and presentation skills.
• Strong project management capabilities, with the ability to drive multiple high-stakes initiatives simultaneously.
Technical Proficiency:
• Deep familiarity with ad serving, tracking, and measurement technologies (e.g., Google Campaign Manager 360, ad verification platforms).
• Proficiency with analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics).
• Strong understanding of data privacy regulations and brand safety best practices.
Other Requirements:
• Availability to collaborate with teams and partners primarily during core Central Time (CT) business hours.
Preferred Qualifications:
• MBA or other advanced degree.
• Direct experience with pharmaceutical marketing review processes and regulations (e.g., FDA OPDP/APLB guidelines).
• Experience with marketing automation platforms (e.g., Marketing, AI/Next Best Engagement, CDP) and CRM systems.
• Familiarity with advanced measurement solutions like Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) or data clean rooms.